US bookselling chain opens dozens of new stores as industry rebounds

The US bookstore chain Barnes & Noble plans to open 60 bookstores this year, part of a wider uptick in the world of books.

B&N will open a dozen stores this month alone, Publishers Weekly reported, having already opened 10 net new locations in 2023.

It is not alone in its expansion: Membership of the American Booksellers Association has nearly doubled since 2016, according to The Associated Press, driven in large part by a growth in independent bookstores across the United States.

Among newly opened bookstores are That’s What She Read, a romance-focused retailer, and Octavia’s Bookshelf, named after a late Black science fiction writer.